Morning radio personality for The Duck arrested

A former disc jockey for a Tullahoma-based radio station is being held in the Coffee County Jail on charges that he sexually assaulted a young girl in Kentucky.

John Edward Nichols, 63, was arrested at his Campbell Avenue home on Wednesday and charged as a fugitive from justice. His bond has been set at $750,000.

John Edward Nichols

Once Nichols has been transported to Kentucky, police there will charge him with two counts of sexual abuse in the first degree, according to Russellville, Ky., detective Kenneth Edmonds. Russellville is located 20 miles west of Bowling Green, Ky. and 56 miles from Nashville.

Edmonds said Nichols allegedly assaulted the girl on two separate occasions, most recently on Sunday, Nov. 10. and the other prior to that. Edmonds, who traveled to Tullahoma to make the arrest, declined to specify the age of the girl or when the first assault allegedly took place. According to Edmonds, Nichols knew the girl through her mother.

“As far as I know it was just a friendship” between Nichols and the child’s mother, Edmonds said.

According to the detective, the girl reported the assaults to her mother, who then contacted the Russellville Police Department. In the state of Kentucky, a conviction on a first-degree sexual assault charge carries a sentence of between one and five years in prison.

If Nichols signs an extradition waiver he could be back in Kentucky to face the charges within two to five days, Edmonds said. If he does not sign a waiver, extradition could take up to 30 days. Once back in Kentucky, Nichols will appear in district court for a preliminary hearing before the case is turned over to a grand jury.

Nichols, also known by his on-air persona of “The Flying Dutchman,” was the morning DJ at The Duck, 93.9 WDUC.

“He’s no longer an employee of The Duck as of yesterday,” said Pete Bowman, the station’s owner.